Obama's energy secretary outlines dire climate change scenario

Unless there is timely action on climate change, California's agricultural bounty could be reduced to a dust bowl and its cities disappear, said Barack Obama's energy secretary Steven Chu.

"I don't think the American public has gripped in its gut what could happen," he told the Los Angeles Times in his first interview since taking the post. "We're looking at a scenario where there's no more agriculture in California. I don't actually see how they can keep their cities going." He proposed alternative energy sources and a cap-and-trade system to limit greenhouse gases. Full story: Los Angeles Times